AdSense is the most popular ad network but famously has strict rules concerning traffic and content type. Many publishers are unable to comply with these requirements and seek AdSense alternatives that will enable them to monetize their content effectively. You’ve arrived at the right place if you fall into this category; we’ve compiled a list of the best AdSense alternatives and their unique features. 

Why Use an AdSense Alternative?

There are a handful of disadvantages to Google’s platform that make it unsuitable for certain blog sites. Here are some common and valid reasons to pick a competing ad network over AdSense:

Eligibility Requirements

Many networks, including AdSense, require that applicants hit certain metrics on their website before they can be a partner. If Google won’t authorize your blog for an AdSense account, you’ll need a network with more relaxed approval requirements to get started.

Because of the platform’s rigorous click fraud control, you might also have had your AdSense account disabled. For example, you accidentally placed an ad on a page you shouldn’t have, or you unintentionally clicked one of your own ads. It’s easy to violate the terms of service if you’re not paying attention, and you might need a more forgiving alternative.

Revenue Share

Most ad networks use an automated system to place advertisements in designated areas on your website. When users engage with these ads — for example, by viewing them, clicking them, and/or making a purchase through the ad — you receive a share of the commission, and the rest goes to the network.

With Google AdSense, publishers receive 68% of the revenue generated by ads on their website. This is a competitive rate, but some alternative networks offer an even greater share. You’ll need a top-notch website with steady and high traffic to qualify, but it’s worth it if you make the cut.

Ad Customization

Some ad networks let you tailor the look of your ads to your website’s theme to help them fit in more naturally with your original content. The level of customization varies by service, but many let you adjust the color and sizing of a unit, which is more flexible than AdSense allows.

Minimum Payout

A network’s minimum payout is the minimum amount of earnings you need before you can receive a payment. AdSense’s minimum payout is $100, which is higher compared to some alternatives. If your website is smaller or less established, it could take longer than you’d prefer to reach $100 in earnings. You might be better off partnering with a service that offers a lower minimum payout.

Tailoring for Your Blog

Large ad networks like Google AdSense are built to serve any type of content-heavy site, from blogs to news sites to video publishers and everything in between. If you’re looking for an ad provider that works directly with you and can build a custom-fit solution for your specific blog, it makes sense to seek out an alternative to AdSense.

Additional Revenue Sources

Instead of replacing AdSense, you might want a companion network that runs on your site alongside AdSense, in order to provide an additional source of revenue. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you stay within the AdSense terms of service.

If any of these cases apply to you, there are many worthy alternatives that you can try. Let’s break down the best ones.

Best Google AdSense Alternatives

1. Media.net

Media.net is a leader in contextual advertising. The service is run by Bing and Yahoo and it is widely considered the go-to AdSense alternative for publishers and advertisers. Media.net offers multiple types of display ads and native ads for desktop and mobile, and you can expect to earn around the same from these ads as you would with AdSense.

As with all AdSense alternatives, pay attention to Media.net’s approval requirements. To be accepted, your blog must offer high-quality content and adhere to a clean, professional design. Your traffic source also matters: Media.net requires that the majority of your visitors are located in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

If you’re looking for a service comparable to AdSense in features, quality, and payout rate, Media.net is a great starting point. The minimum payout is $100 via PayPal, and payouts occur monthly.

Best for: Publishers looking for the most comparable service to Google AdSense in payouts and overall experience.

• Overview: A top competitor to Google AdSense, Media.net is powered by Yahoo and Bing. It offers contextually relevant ads and is particularly effective for English-speaking markets.
• Best for: Content-driven websites with strong traffic from the U.S., UK, and India.

2. PropellerAds

Propeller Ads is one of the biggest AdSense alternative ad networks with 32K advertisers. They offer aggressive, high CPM ad formats such as interstitial ads, push notifications, and in-page push ads. There is no minimum traffic requirement so Propeller Ads is a good fit for small publishers looking to generate aggressive returns.

Does PropellerAds pay more than AdSense?

Generally, yes. The popup and push ads from PropellerAds are more aggressive. This leads to higher viewability and higher click-through rates (CTR). As a result, PropellerAds is able to generate more revenue than AdSense. However, Propeller Ads are less stringent from a product policy perspective than AdSense and as a result, the quality of ads shown is generally not as high as what one would see via AdSense.

• Overview: PropellerAds offers a wide variety of ad formats such as display banners, native ads, pop-unders, and push notifications.
• Best for: Websites with moderate to high traffic, especially for non-U.S. audiences.

3. AdThrive

AdThrive is not an ad network for small businesses; however, large and medium publishers can earn significant ad revenue by leveraging this ad network.

A noteworthy thing about this ad network is that they pay publishers on time even if they haven’t received payment from advertisers on time. 

Update: Apart from Google AdSense alternatives, you should also check out some native ad networks, mobile ad networks, CPM-based ad networks, and affiliate ad networks to explore alternate monetization options.

Benefits of Using AdThrive

1. High Quality Ads: Users will only see high-quality ads, which means that publishers don’t have to worry about the content shown on their websites. You can get started with AdThrive if you receive 100,000 page views per month.  
2. Cookie Average: Another thing to consider here is that AdThrive claims to provide Cookie Coverage, meaning they promise RPM won’t drop down when third-party cookies are actually phased out.

• Overview: A premium ad network that works with content-rich websites, AdThrive specializes in display ads and offers higher CPMs.
• Best for: High-traffic websites (100,000+ pageviews/month), especially in niches like lifestyle, food, and parenting.

4. Ezoic

Ezoic is a company based in California that is a Partner of Google Publishing. It is known for its AI monetization system — Ad Tester — which boosts income from a website’s ads. 

This isn’t a typical ad network as the ads that are tested come from a variety of sources. Publishers can include their current ad networks to Ezoic and with the help of the AI they can compete against all other providers. Ezoic typically pays more than AdSense. 

• Overview: Ezoic uses AI to optimize ad placements, offering tools to test various combinations for higher revenue. It integrates with Google AdSense and other ad networks for better monetization.
• Best for: Websites with decent traffic looking to optimize their revenue streams.

5. Amazon Associates

You’ve heard of Amazon, but did you know about its display ads program? Amazon Native Shopping Ads, a division of the Amazon Associates program, allows you to place native Amazon product listings on your blog pages. These ads are targeted based on the surrounding page content.

When a visitor clicks one of these ads and then buys any product on Amazon, you’ll receive a commission from the purchase. Thanks to Amazon’s unparalleled reputation in e-commerce, your visitors are more likely to make a purchase this way than through competitors.

Amazon sends payments 60 days after the end of each month, and the minimum payout is low at $10 via direct deposit.

Best for: Publishers looking to partner with Amazon and become an Amazon Associate.

• Overview: Amazon’s affiliate program lets you earn commissions by linking to Amazon products. It’s a great option for those in niches like tech, books, or product reviews.
• Best for: Websites with product-related content or niche blogs.

6. Infolinks

Like AdSense, Infolinks is an advertising network that supports both publishers and advertisers. They specialize in curated ads for individual users through contextual advertising. Infolinks ads come in various ad formats including in-text (in-text ads work well for long blog posts), in-fold, in-tag, in-frame, and graphic banner ads. Publishers can use their contact form to contact customer support or view their library of support videos.

Infolinks operates on a CPC basis. Their payment methods for payouts include PayPal, eCheck, and ACH (however, there are minimum payment thresholds for each one). As of May 2023, Payoneer is not an option for payouts.

• Overview: Infolinks offers innovative ad formats such as in-text ads, in-frame ads, and display banners. It’s simple to integrate and doesn’t require much setup.
• Best for: Text-heavy blogs and websites looking for a low-maintenance solution.

7. Skimlinks

Skimlinks specializes in affiliate marketing, making it unique from other options on our list. It works by scanning text on your blog for links to other sites. If a link leads to one of its advertising partners, Skimlinks turns it into an affiliate link and you’ll receive 75% commission when a visitor clicks on it. You also earn additional revenue when users purchase products through your affiliate links.

Skimlinks is ideal for bloggers who want to monetize their text content without (or in addition to) display ads. It also works well for product reviews, which are more likely to mention brands by name. Skimlinks offers a low minimum payout of $10. However, it only sends payments every 90 days.

Best for: Affiliate marketers who want their affiliate links placed automatically.

• Overview: Skimlinks automatically converts links to products into affiliate links, allowing you to earn commissions from any sales made through those links.
• Best for: Content-heavy websites like blogs with product reviews or recommendations.

8. Revcontent

Revcontent offers Native ads designed to match the look and feel of your website’s content. They also offer ads in other formats, including display, mobile, and video.

They collaborate with publishers who are likely to generate a high volume of ad clicks, thus attracting advertisers willing to pay higher commissions.

Unfortunately, Revcontent is even more selective than Google AdSense in terms of eligibility. To be considered, your site must have at least 50,000 monthly visitors and produce valuable content regularly. There’s a chance you’ll be rejected, but for Revcontent’s promise of higher engagement rates, it’s worth a shot. Publishers are paid every month, with a $50 minimum payout. RevContent’s native ads pay significantly higher than AdSense, but this network has stricter eligibility requirements.

• Overview: A premium native ad network that offers higher-quality ads and competitive CPMs. It’s known for content discovery and native advertising.
• Best for: Content-rich websites in industries like news, tech, and lifestyle.

9. Sovrn (formerly VigLink)

Sovrn Commerce is another popular Google Adsense alternative that advertisers and publishers love to use. Through Sovrn, you can automatically create links to your Amazon products, eCommerce product pages, and other well-known affiliate programs.

Benefits of using Sovrn

1. Customization Abilities: Sovrn Commerce also allows its ad tech partners to create customized visual experiences, develop custom integrations, and access powerful new resources.
2. Easy Tracking Features: The dashboard helps publishers and advertisers to keep track of performance metrics so they can improve their monetization strategy accordingly. 
3. Cost Effective: The platform comes with season experts who help generate advertising revenue in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

• Overview: Sovrn focuses on affiliate marketing by turning regular product links into affiliate links, earning a commission when users make a purchase.
• Best for: Sites with affiliate marketing potential or product-oriented content.

10. Criteo

It is another great adsense alternative.Criteo’s product is a form of display advertising, which displays interactive banner advertisements, generated based on the online browsing preferences and behaviour of each customer. The solution operates on a pay per click/cost per click (CPC) basis.

• Overview: Criteo specializes in retargeting ads, showing personalized ads to users based on their previous visits. It’s ideal for e-commerce websites and remarketing.
• Best for: E-commerce websites or sites looking to retarget visitors for higher conversions.

11. Bidvertiser

BidVertiser pays you on both clicks and conversions, potentially improving the publisher’s earnings from the site.

Text ads, banner ads, mobile ads, and slider ads are available. They offer publishers a point-and-click ad builder tool that helps you to customize the ads to fit the look and feel of your site.

They pay monthly by check, wire, PayPal, and Bitcoin. The current minimum payout is only $10 for Paypal, $100 for Check, and $500 for Bank Wire.

One downside to BidVertiser is that they use an advertiser bidding system. Each advertiser bids ad placement and what sites their ads appear on. So, it may take some time for advertisers to find your site in the BidVertiser network and start bidding on your ad spots.

Benefits of using Bidvertiser

1. Geo-Targeted Ads: Stand out with Bidvertiser’s geo-targeted ads. This feature enables you to deliver location-specific advertisements to your audience, ensuring that the content displayed is highly relevant and increases the likelihood of engagement and conversions.
2. Multiple Ad Types: Bidvertiser supports various ad types, including banners, pop-unders, sliders, and XML feeds. This diversity allows you to experiment and find the ad formats that resonate best with your blog’s design and user experience, maximizing your earning potential.
3. Enhanced Control: With Bidvertiser, you have greater control over your ad inventory. You can easily block unwanted ads, select specific categories, and even set custom bid minimums to ensure that only high-quality and relevant ads are displayed on your blog.

12. AdClickMedia

• Overview: This ad network offers a combination of text ads, banners, and pop-ups. It is a good alternative for websites looking for a straightforward monetization solution.
• Best for: Small to medium-sized websites.

13. Taboola

Taboola is one more alternative to Google AdSense that specializes in native advertising. This network can be used in conjunction with other advertising tactics, meaning it can increase your current earnings without having to replace any of your strategies. 

To get access, publishers must have a minimum of 500,000 visitors per month. The minimum payout for Taboola is $50. This network generally pays less than AdSense, but you can combine it with AdSense to broaden your monetization strategy.

• Overview: Taboola is a native advertising platform that delivers related content at the bottom of articles or within content feeds. It’s widely used by major publishers.
• Best for: Content-heavy websites, especially in the news and entertainment niches.

14. ShareASale

• Overview: ShareASale is an affiliate marketing network that connects publishers with various brands. You can promote products and earn commissions based on sales.
• Best for: Websites in niches such as fashion, tech, health, or lifestyle.

15. AdRecover

Ad blocking software prevents online advertisements like display ads from displaying in users’ browsers, and is a major obstacle to online advertisers and publishers that rely on ad revenue to sustain their websites.

AdRecover is one solution to this problem: It partners with ad-blocking software and works to present ads that comply with user experience standards. AdRecover ensures your advertisements are non-disruptive in order to drive clicks from AdBlock, AdBlockPlus, and Crystal Adblock users.

To be accepted, your website must receive at least 10,000 ad-blocked pageviews per month. The minimum payout is $50.

Best for: Popular websites experiencing decreasing impressions, clicks, and/or actions due to ad-blocking software

Conclusion in AdSense Alternative

A high-quality AdSense alternative will help you secure an additional revenue stream that can motivate you to produce more blog content and help cover the cost of running your website.

When making your choice of ad network, don’t settle for the first one you try. Be sure to test at least a few different options over a set period of time, then determine which ones generate the most passive income for you without disrupting the user experience. It’s okay to do things a bit differently — you don’t have to go with Google.